Bonus Tracks

All the News That's Fit to Hear

Like, for example, the five bonus tracks recently added to the C.O.T. Mixtape. The original 20-track mixtape was released online by The City of Trees music blog in June, and featured a cross-section of established Boise bands like Finn Riggins and Hillfolk Noir, as well as newer groups like Youth Lagoon and Art Fad. The mixtape was updated with songs from Hypno Safari, The Dirty Moogs, Colby Meade, The Very Most, and Workin' on Fire. It's available via name-your-price download at bandcamp.com.

But sometimes, it's not just more songs that make up a bonus, it's an extra genre or two. Take for example, Gose, a techno-accordion glam-rock band from Arrasate-Mondragon, Basque Country. Gose will play a free show at the Basque Center in Boise on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m.

If that's a few too many genres for you, there's always Grammy-nominated pop singer Toni Childs, who will perform at the Boise State Special Events Center on Sunday, Nov. 13. This show is a bonus, because Childs took a long break from music to recover from Graves' disease after winning an Emmy Award in 2004 for the song, "Because You're Beautiful."

Also in the bonus category is the level of musical experience that went into Shakin' Not Stirred's latest album, In the Wood. The self-described "older folks" in the folk/swing band collectively bring more than 200 years of musical experience that whippersnappers making a racket down at the Neuro-what-have-you can't touch. The band will celebrate the album's release at The Linen Building on Friday, Nov. 11. That show starts at 7 p.m. and costs $10.

"It really catalyzed the sense of community in our station," said Abrams. "Because of the odd hours that people come in and do their shows, they don't necessarily see each other. This made them feel part of the whole."